The various types of the methods and systems for psychological brain treatments and stimulations are well known in the medical and counseling practice. Some brain treating methods require placement of a probe and sensing, stimulating of the both areas of the brain, especially the intralaminar nuclei. Moreover, stimulation is controlled and offered when certain conditions within the area of interest are detected. Stimulation and sensing include electrical, chemical or combinations thereof. For example, the surgical principles (method) can be applied for “deep” psychological, neurological and/or psychiatric disorders. The surgical method has an extensive history. In the early 1930's, Fulton and Jacobsen first recognized that experimentally induced neurotic behavior in chimpanzees could be abolished by frontal lobectomy. Within a few years, Freeman and Watts developed the first psychosurgical procedure for humans known as the frontal lobotomy. As the inherent physiology of the frontal lobe became more evident, the original freehand procedure of Freeman and Watts became less and less extensive and efficient. By the late 1940's, the method of stereo-taxis, in which the patient's brain is modeled in 3-dimensional space for exquisite targeting accuracy, merged with lesioning techniques resulting in an even more efficacious and safe psychosurgical procedure. Further developments of stereotactic equipment have combined with novel advancements in functional and anatomic imaging as well as intraoperative electrophysiological mapping to encompass the state of the art in the neurosurgical treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders today. While technologically improved and more precise, today's surgical lesioning techniques have the fundamental limitation of being inherently irreversible and are essentially a “one shot” procedure with little chance of alleviating or preventing potential side effects. In addition, there is a limited possibility to provide continuous benefits as the disease progresses and the patient's symptoms evolve. Within the field of neurosurgery, the use of electrical stimulation for treating “deep” psychological, neurological and psychiatric diseases, including such disorders as, for example, movement disorders, etc. has been widely discussed in the literature. In the latest time it has been considered that electrical and/or chemical stimulation holds some advantages over lesioning, inasmuch as lesioning can only destroy nervous system tissue. In many instances, the preferred effect is to electrically stimulate the increasing, decreasing, or blocking of the psychological or neuronal activity. Electrical or chemical impact might be useful in some ways to provide the stimulation and/or modulation of the brain target neural structures.
For instance, the methods by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,708,064; 6,418,344 and 6,167,311 provide modulation of the brain to affect psychological or psychiatric disorders. The methods provide the treating neurological conditions by proper placement of a probe and sensing, stimulating of the both areas of the brain. Generally, the methods relate to modulating the pathological electrical and chemical activity of the brain by electrical stimulation and/or direct placement of neuro-modulating chemicals within the corresponding areas of abnormal function and activity. In accordance with the inventions, the methods are the surgical treatment of psychiatric disorders (e.g. addictions/substance abuse, obsessive compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, social phobia, major depression, learning disorder, etc.) by implantation of stimulating electrodes and/or drug/chemical delivery micro infusion at the assigned locations.
More particularly, the methods include the following general steps of 1) implanting a device in contact with an intralaminar nuclei of the brain; sensing activity in the specific area of the brain, wherein the specific area of the brain is different than the intralaminar nuclei, and wherein the specific area of the brain is different than the intralaminar nuclei and the sensing activity occurs at a location distal from the device location; and operating the device to modulate the intralaminar nuclei in response to said activity to thereby affect the disorder associated with the specific area of the brain, or 2) placing an electrode in contact with an intralaminar nuclei of the brain and operating the device to provide stimulation to the intralaminar nuclei to thereby affect the psychiatric activity in the specific area of the brain, the specific area of the brain being different than the intralaminar nuclei.
Such methods are not completely saved considering possible malfunction of the electrical/electronic equipment (e.g., higher electrical signal), that might lead to the critical destruction of the brain nervous tissue/cell.
Another method of brain stimulation is described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,556,868. The method provides the treatment of psychological disorder consisting the group of memory impairment, a learning disorder, impairment of cognitive processing speed, impairment of acquisition of perceptual skills, impairment of acquisition of motor skills, and impairment of perceptual processing. In general, the method comprises the steps of: selecting an appropriate human (or animal) subject and applying to the subject's vagus nerve an electrical stimulation signal having parameter values effective in modulating the electrical activity of the vagus nerve in a manner so as to modulate the activity of preselected portions of the brain. The stimulating electrical signal has to be effective to cause a physiological, structural or neuronal connective alteration in the brain. Neural function in the brain is changed as a consequence of the neuronal connective alteration; thereby changing behavior, or the capacity for behavior, in the human or animal subject.
This method has the same deficiency as the previous patented method, i.e. the electrical stimulation is not completely saved considering possible malfunction of the electrical/electronic equipment (e.g., higher electrical signal), that might lead to the critical destruction of the brain nervous tissue/cell.
The other known devices (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,520,905 and 6,798,898) also use the portable biosensor. The described in these patents methods classify an individual's personal preference for an image. In common the methods comprise the steps of: viewing an image for a period of time; ranking the image on a scale extending between a “detached” feeling and an “attached” feeling, where “detached” is a feeling of not being able to personally connect to the object or situation depicted in the image, and “attached” is a feeling of a personal connection to the object or situation depicted in their image; providing a portable device having at least one sensor for monitoring a physiological state of an individual carrying the device; recording at least one sensed physiological state over a period of time; analyzing the recorded physiological data to predict the individual's psychological and physiological state; and alerting the individual if the predicted state is determined to require management of said state. A portable biometric device is worn or carried by a user and which senses and records physiological parameters on a continuous basis. A biometric analyzer extracts the physiological activation state of user from one or more measured physiological parameters. A cognitive analyzer which extracts cognitive state from cognitive responses to images. A personal profiler which combines the physiological and cognitive measures obtained from the biometric analyzer and cognitive analyzer to generate an individual's personal image profile for a given state response.
These methods using the principles of the wearing/carrying of the portable device (sensors) can bring the additional stress and discomfort to the psychologically disordered individual, and again include in some way the mentioned above deficiency inherent in electrical contact of the electrical equipment (sensors) with the human body, that might be not completely saved considering the possible malfunction of the electrical/electronic equipment, that might lead to the possible injury. Also, these methods can provide recognition of the individual's physiological and psychological state, but does not provide brain (cell) stimulation (treatment), e.g. such as improving memory and learning capabilities.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,433,977 discloses the apparatus and method for changing critical brain activity using light and sound, exposing the patient to one or more lights placed in close proximity to a patient's eyes wherein the one or more of that lights selectively stimulate the non-dominant eye connected to the non-dominant cerebral hemisphere. The apparatus is presented either by a device that covers the patient's eyes, such as a pair of sunglasses, or devices including sports helmets that are used to protect players' craniums and may be integrated into the protective head gear (e.g., football, bicycle helmets, etc.). Also, the device can include the computer monitors and televisions, which are able to encompass one or more oscillating lights set-up in a proscribed manner on a person's monitor. The light may be displayed in a subliminal alternating checkerboard pattern that would be set to the individual user. The light stimulates the non-dominant cerebral hemisphere greater than the dominant cerebral hemisphere. In this version, the non-dominant cerebral hemisphere is stimulated to a greater degree than the dominant cerebral hemisphere. It is the coordinated stimulation of the non-dominant hemisphere that helps create a balance of integration of excitatory post synaptic potentials (EPSP). The apparatus for selectively stimulating the non-dominant cerebral includes a surface placed in close proximity to a patient's eyes and one or more lights disposed on the surface. The one or more lights stimulate the eye connected to the non-dominant cerebral hemisphere to a greater extent than the eye connected to the dominant cerebral hemisphere at a rate of approximately, e.g., 60/40. By overstimulating the non-dominant hemisphere there is an increase in the patient's ability to maintain a heighten mental status, and in turn sets up for a globality of the increased muscular activity. Alternatively, the surface may be sleeping goggles or the glasses reflecting the light from a source next to the eye (light is reflected from the glass surface) into the patient's eyes.
These method and device are not able to provide an improvement of the individual's learning processes, such as mathematics, alphabet, etc.
Thus, there is a great need in the art for the improved method and system for psychological treatment by brain stimulation of the psychologically disordered object, employing at the same time the correction of the malfunctioning complex cell and/or replacement of the malfunctioning complex cell by the modified simple brain cells, and providing possibility to balance, align and stimulate of the different parts of the brain using different structures and pattern of visual, audio and/or kinesthetic perception, and olfactory expressions having the same meaning.